Immigration

SDPB Education reporter Jackie Hendry kicks off a month-long look at international students in South Dakota higher education. Watch for continuing coverage throughout April as she explores the impact on the state economy as well as on communities, on colleges and universities, and on students who study side by side with scholars from across the globe.

University of South Dakota graduate Martha Draayer speaks about her personal experience with the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals immigration policy this Friday, February 23 at Noon in the Muenster University Center Pit Lounge on the USD campus.

Draayer joins us to discuss a national debate where the consequences are deeply personal.

Francisco Cantu served as an agent for the United States Border Patrol from 2008 to 2012, working in the deserts of Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. He did his job, even as it began to erode his soul. He tells the story in his new memoir "The Line Becomes a River: Dispatches from the Border."

The senate education committee effectively tables a bill prohibiting students who are in the country illegally from attending public universities. Senate Bill 103 is sent to the 41st day after more than an hour and a half of testimonies and discussion.

Opponents of the bill argue the Board of Regents lacks power and resources to uphold federal immigration law. Legal counsel for the Board of Regents also states the system is not considered complicit in harboring criminals under federal statute.

According to the U.S. Department of State, resettling refugees "reflects our own tradition as a nation of immigrants and refugees. It is an important, enduring and ongoing expression of our commitment to international humanitarian principles."

In the Moment welcomes Betty Oldenkamp, CEO of Lutheran Social Services in South Dakota for a conversation about refugee resettlement in South Dakota.

Dr. Tea Rozman Clark is co-founder of Green Card Voices, an organization devoted to helping immigrants document and share their personal stories. She was the guest at the Morning Fill Up at The Garage in Rapid City (sponsored by the Numad Group and the Bush Foundation). After the morning event, she stopped by the SDPB Black Hills Bureau to talk empathy and the power of storytelling.

One year after an agreement between Kilian Community College and the University of Sioux Falls, USF's Bridges program continues to welcome people wanting to improve their proficiency in English. This month the University also cut the ribbon for the renamed Thomas Kilian Academic Success Center. We’re joined by Brett Bradfield, president of the University of Sioux Falls.

Yesterday the Annie E. Casey Foundation released the 2017 Race for Results report. It's one of the most comprehensive analyses of the state of child well-being for children of color in the United States. Joining us now is Carole Cochran, director of South Dakota KIDS COUNT.

The legal showdown over President Trump’s immigration executive order continues. Today we talk about what the order means in South Dakota. Paul Turman, vice president for academic affairs for the South Dakota Board of Regents joins the show to discuss the impact on state universities.

The increase of Syrian and other Middle Eastern refugees fleeing war torn countries is raising debate in this nation over how many the US should allow in. But refugees are nothing new for the United States. According to information from the US Department of State, since 1975, more than three million refugees have arrived in all 50 states in America. Currently in South Dakota refugees arrive in Sioux Falls and Huron. Officials are looking into making Aberdeen a direct resettlement site.

Joseph Amato is a second-generation Sicilian American. He writes intellectual and cultural history, including poetry, philosophy, and ethics. He joins Dakota Midday to discuss his latest book, “My Three Sicilies.” The book is written in the three languages of poetry, fiction, and history. Amato uses the theme of exploring our past to become both more and other than who we are even as he explores issues of identity, immigration, and love.

Each legislative session, some major issues seem to take the spotlight in Pierre – and education is dominating this year’s conversation. Much of SDPB’s coverage relates to funding schools and teachers, because lawmakers are trying to find ways to fairly and adequately fund education. Despite a goal to provide the same opportunity for all kids by doling out the matching funding for students, children walk into classes facing a wide range of challenges. A visit to one Sioux Falls school reveals some of those differences.

A federal court case in the Black Hills on harboring illegal aliens and submitting false claims to officials is unchanged despite President Obama’s recent actions allowing about 5-million people to stay in the United States legally.

The case that involves a settlement of more than $450-thousand in civil penalties.

Dr. Harry Thompson, Executive Director of the Center for Western Studies at Augustana College, joins the program. Thompson discusses the history of the Spanish exploration of and immigration into the Northern Plains. Early exploration and immigration was recently discussed at the 45th annual Dakota Conference on Northern Plains History, Literature, Art and Archaeology, held April 25-26 in Sioux Falls.

By Victoria WicksA bill to sanction employers who hire undocumented workers didn’t jump the first legislative hurdle Wednesday. House Bill 1175 proposed a probationary period for employers found to have illegal employees and stronger sanctions for subsequent offenses. The sponsor says South Dakota has a large population of illegal workers, but an opponent says that’s not the case.

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